Etymologically
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dealer

Etymology and origin of the English word dealer

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1000

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdiːlə(ɹ)/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English delere, from Old English dǣlere (“divider, distributor; agent”), from dǣlan (“to divide”) (see deal) and -er.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who divides, distributes or delivers; also an agent or negotiator: about 1000.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The player who deals the cards is from about 1600,[2][5] and one whose business is buying and selling goods, a trader, from the 1610s (1611 in the OED).[2][5] One who acts in a specified way towards others, as a plain dealer, is a 16th-century sense now obsolete.[5] A seller of illegal drugs is recorded by 1920.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – a distributor; an agent.[5][2]
  • c. 1600 – a card dealer.[2][5]
  • 1611 – a trader.[5]
  • 1920 – a drug dealer.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person or company that buys and sells a particular kind of goods: an antiques dealer.
  2. A person who sells illegal drugs.
  3. The player who deals the cards in a game.

Word family

  • dealership
  • newsdealer
  • subdealer
  • wheeler-dealer
  • dealer's choice

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Dealer.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/dealer. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·